Ice princess Shimada (JPN) sparkles and new stars are born at ISU Junior Grand Prix in Riga

Riga, Latvia

 

 Mao Shimada (JPN) JGP Riga (LAT) ISU 2168509192

Shimada (JPN) pictured at the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Riga (LAT). @ISU

The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series 2024/25 kicked off with a bang at the first event in Riga (LAT) August 28-31 as the young Skaters lit up the ice in the Volvo Sports Centre with their spectacular performances. Japan’s ice princess Mao Shimada confidently claimed her fifth ISU Junior Grand Prix gold medal while new stars rose with first-time winners Sena Takahashi (JPN), Pair Skaters Jiaxuan Zhang/Yihan Huang (CHN) and Ice Dancers Noemi Tali/Noah Lafornara (ITA).

 

Mao Shimada (JPN), to the fifth

Mao Shimada (JPN) might look graceful and charming, but she is a tough competitor and never shies away from a challenge. Even though the 15-year-old felt not at a 100 percent due to jetlag, she left everything out on the ice. Shimada skated to a confident lead in the Short Program to “Wicked”. In her exquisite Free Skating to the Japanese piece “Mado Kara Mier” that represents the seasons of the year, the two-time ISU World Junior Champion produced seven clean triple jumps and beautiful spins.

 

 

Only the triple Axel and quadruple  toeloop – the most difficult jumps that no other female competitor attempted in Riga – did not work out this time. Shimada stumbled on the Axel and fell on the toeloop. Nevertheless, the Japanese Skater scored a runaway victory with 204.86 points.

“I am excited to be back at the Junior Grand Prix”,

Shimada shared.

“It was my own idea to skate to Japanese music. The piece itself was chosen by (choreographer) Lori Nichol. I like that I understand the lyrics of what I am skating to, so I can feel the music very well,“

she explained.

“My condition was not so great and I knew I had only a slight chance of landing the triple Axel and quad toe, but I wanted to show that I am challenging the difficult jumps.”

Shimada is headed to the Junior Grand Prix in Gdansk (POL) 25 – 28 September next and wants to seal her spot in the ISU Grand Prix Final in Grenoble (FRA) 5 – 8 December.

Mao Shimada (JPN) Elina Goidina (EST) and Nayeon Ko (KOR) pictured at the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Riga (LAT), @ISU

She was joined on the podium by Elina Goidina (EST) and Nayeon Ko (KOR), who both claimed their first ISU JGP medals. Goidina rose from fourth to second place with an excellent performance to “Angels and Demons” (182.23 points). The Estonian competed in her very first ISU Junior Grand Prix event and now has a good chance to qualify for the Junior Final. Ko took the bronze, a big step up from her 12th place finish in her ISU Junior Grand Prix debut a year ago (176.86 points).  

 

This is Sena Takahashi (JPN)

Have you heard of Sena Takahashi before? Probably not as this 14-year-old Japanese Skater never competed internationally before. “This Is Me” was his music in the Short Program and now you know who Sena Takahashi is. The youngster came out of nowhere to grab the gold with 229.66 points, showing off great jumps, skating skills and expression. He entered the scene with a flawless Short Program and sealed his victory with a clean Free Skating to “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi that included two triple Axels.

 

 

“Everything here is for the first time for me, so I just reminded myself to have fun”,

Takahashi said with a broad smile.

“I wanted to come here and enjoy every moment. I like the Four Seasons program and to express the different seasons. My favorite season is spring”,

he noted and added that he feels inspired by the Four Seasons program three-time ISU World Champion Patrick Chan (CAN) once performed. Takahashi will take the ice again at JGP Gdansk and aims at the Final obviously.

 

Sena Takahashi (JPNI Jaekeun Lee (KOR) Shunsuke Nakamura (JPN) ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Riga (LAT) ISU 2168767464

Sena Takahashi (JPN), Jaekeun Lee (KOR) and Shunsuke Nakamura (JPN) pictured during the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Riga (LAT). @ISU

Jaekeun Lee (KOR) has more experience on the Junior circuit as he has been competing since 2021. However, it was the first time to step on to the podium for the 16-year-old. Lee laid down two solid performances, he only missed a triple flip in his powerful performance to “Archangel” by Two Steps from Hell. The Korean collected a personal best score of 220.26 points. Shunsuke Nakamura (JPN) earned the bronze, his fourth Junior Grand Prix medal. He landed a somewhat shaky quadruple toeloop to move up from fifth place (212.73 points). Nakamura will fight for a spot in the Junior Final at the JGP Ankara.  

Genrikh Gartung (GER) hit a textbook perfect quad Lutz, something rarely seen on the ISU Junior Grand Prix and pulled up from 10th to sixth in what was his debut on the series.

 

Zhang/Huang’s (CHN) golden debut

Let’s meet Jiaxuan Zhang/Yihan Huang! Pair Skating in China has a long tradition and these two are the newest promising team from the Middle Kingdom. Although they have been skating together for three years, and can now compete internationally as they reached the age requirements. Standing in third place in the Short Program after a fall on the throw triple Salchow, Zhang/Huang came back strong in their Free Skating to “All For One” that was highlighted by big throw jumps and difficult lifts. He only fell on the triple Salchow. They scored 159.76 points. By the way, their choreographer is Olympic Pair Skating Champion Wenjing Sui (CHN).

 

 

“We are very happy that we were able to come here and participate for the first time in an international event”,

Huang commented. The team is slated for JGP Gdansk (POL) as their second event.

“It is not guaranteed that we get first place in each competition as each competition is different. So we want to make sure to perform each element the best we can”,

he added. While Huang competed internationally with his previous partner, it was the very first time for Zhang.

“I was a little nervous, but I really enjoyed being at this international event”, she noted.

Tali, Lafornara (ITA), Mullen, Mullen (USA), Grimm, Savitskiy (GER) ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating, Volvo Sports Center, Riga, Latvia ISU 2168772066

Zhang/Huang (CHN), Desrochers/Thrasher (CAN), Flores/Wang (USA) pictured at the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating n Riga (LAT). @ISU

ISU Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalists Jazmine Desrochers/Kieran Thrasher (CAN) led after the Short Program with a personal best score. Overall, they settled for the silver with an expressive Blues program to “Since I’ve Been Loving You” (152.23 points). Their next event is the JGP Ankara (TUR). 2024 ISU World Junior silver medalists Olivia Flores/Luke Wang (USA) were favorites but after making some errors in their “Lion King” Free Skating, they finished with the bronze medal (139.51 points). They vowed to come back stronger at the JGP Ankara in three weeks.

 

Tali/Lafornara get Italy’s first JGP Dance gold in 17 years

Italian Ice Dancers have been very successful, just look at World Champions and medalists such as Barbara Fusar Poli/Maurizio Margaglio, Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte and currently Charlène Guignard/Marco Fabbri. However, it has been 17 years since an Italian Ice Dance couple won an ISU Junior Grand Prix event – and now Noemi Tali/Noah Lafornara ended that gold medal draught with their convincing victory in Riga. The ISU World Junior competitors danced to the lead with their entertaining Bee Gees Rhythm Dance and followed up with a smooth Free Dance to “Love Story”, picking up mostly level threes and fours for their elements. The Italians set new personal best scores in both programs (161.26 points) and want to book their spot in the Junior Final at their next event in Bangkok (THA).

 

 

“We are very happy we skated two clean performances. We feel very comfortable with this program. This season is about growing and challenging us as we are still in Juniors. It’s a season to learn a lot of new things”,

Tali said.

“The goal was skating clean. We also wanted to push ourselves to be more connected”, Lafonara added. “The dream of getting the gold is always in the back of your head but you don’t say it out loud.”

Tali, Lafornara (ITA), Mullen, Mullen (USA), Grimm, Savitskiy (GER) ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating, Volvo Sports Center, Riga, Latvia ISU 2168772066Tali/Lafornara (ITA), Mullen/Mullen (USA) and Grimm/Savitskiy (GER) pictured at the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Riga (LAT). @ISU

Caroline Mullen/Brendan Mullen (USA) claimed the silver, their first ISU Junior Grand Prix medal setting two personal best scores as well (156.42 points). The brother-and-sister team ranked third in the Rhythm Dance but pulled up to second with their performance to “La terre vue du ciel”.

ISU World Junior bronze medalists Darya Grimm/Michail Savitskiy (GER) turned in two strong performances as well but lost a few levels here and there and were edged out of the silver medal by just 0.09 points with a score of 156.33 points. The two-time ISU Junior Grand Prix Finalists are determined to fight back at the JGP Ankara.  

A total of 114 Skaters/Couples from 39 countries competed in Riga. You can re-live all the action and the winners’ interviews at the ISU YouTube channel.

 

Follow the ISU Junior Grand Prix events:

The schedules of each ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below:

 

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final:

 

Where to Watch?

The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed on the official ISU YouTube channel in most countries. 

 

How do skaters qualify for the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final?

Skaters compete in a maximum of two events and collect points. The top six Single Skaters, Pairs and Ice Dance Couples will then qualify for the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Grenoble (FRA) December 5-8, 2024, where they will be competing for the final JGP title.

Check out the ISU Junior Grand Prix Standings to find out who is on their way to qualify for the Final:

Men     Women           Pair Skating      Ice Dance

 

How many points and how much prize money can skaters earn?

Place               Men/Women     Pairs               Ice Dance

1st place           15 points          15 points           15 points

2nd place           13 points          13 points          13 points

3rd place           11 points          11 points          11 points

4th place           9 points             9 points             9 points

5th place           7 points             7 points             7 points

6th place            5 points             5 points             5 points

7th place            4 points             4 points             4 points

8th place            3 points             3 points             3 points

9th place            2 points                  -                       -

10th place          1 points                  -                       -           

 

The Global Prize money per individual event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating is US$ 22.500,00 (for events without Pair Skating US$ 15,740) which will be awarded to each medal winner for each category as follows:

 

Singles            Women and Men          Pair Skating and Ice Dance (per Couple)

1st place            US$2.000,00                US$ 3.000,00

2nd place           US$1.500,00                 US$2.250,00

3rd place           US$1.000,00                 US$1.500,00

 

Selection Criteria

More than 300 young Skaters from over 50 ISU Members are expected to compete in this year’s Series. Each ISU Member is entitled to enter competitors for the Series while the number of their entries depends on the results achieved at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2024.

 

More information

Full entry lists, results, the General Announcement and further information are available on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.

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